Research

Partnering Forces

11/16/2012

Emily Jenne 13 PR and Sarah Lammer 13 PR spruce up the permanent storefront shared by RISD Exposé and Second Life.

Ever since RISD Exposé and Second Life moved into 204 Westminster, a permanent storefront in
downtown Providence, the two student organizations have been getting along in
sweet symbiotic harmony.And the
partnership between the student-curated art space and the materials resource center
has transformed the formerly vacant space into a vibrant creative center.

According to Sarah
Lammer 13 PR and Emily Jenne 13 PR,
the duo behind RISD Exposé, moving
the student-curated art space to a secure location in September has done
nothing but good for the gallery that started out in 2009 as a month-long
pop-up shop. “[Exposé] was a
response to students not being able to get a table to sell work at alumni
sales. It fills a void,” Lammer explains, adding that the students’ alternative
sales were often held in tents.

Now working in a building with a door that locks, the
printmakers have been busy organizing The White Tie Show, a showcase of
wonderful student and alumni works slated to open November 29. According to the
co-directors, the event will be far from stuffy. “The show is a cross between a craft table and a
gallery in Chelsea,” Lammer says, adding that the works offered for sale will
be an eclectic mix reflective of the wide range of student approaches.

To get the word out about the
show, Lammer and Jenne have been distributing little red business cards and
slapping stickers on campus buildings. “We want to let students and the
Providence community know that [the exhibition] is happening – and we’ve been
sneaky about it,” Jenne admits with a smile.

The storefront is an active
one – and on the ground floor of The
Design Office shared studio space run by Assistant Professor John Caserta. Because it’s also home to
Second Life, the student-run materials resource center that collects and
distributes art supplies, it’s routine for strangers to walk into the cavernous space
to drop off mechanical odds and ends, industrial metals and painting supplies ­–
expensive purchases for artists on a budget. For example, just a few weeks ago Jim Drain 98 SC walked in and donated
bundles of neon rope and an armful of piping. If not for Second Life, he says, the
materials would have found their way to the garbage can instead of the hands of
a supply-hungry artist.

“This needed to happen 120
years ago,” Drain told the students. “I’ve even pilfered some wood from here
for dirt cheap myself.”

The donations can be quite coveted.
According to Hilary Wang 14 GL,
co-director of Second Life, a human-sized crate of luxurious leather was
recently donated by alum Stephanie Retz
10 ID, now a handbag designer for Brahmin. “There’s hot pinks, coffee
browns, embossed alligator skin,” Wang says of the leather. “There aren’t many
manufacturers that make this.”

Students are also quickly
snapping up antique heart pine planks recently ripped from a Thayer Street home
renovation project. First harvested in 1850, the planks are a prize for
woodworkers. Connor Lunch 14 ID helped
move 1,042 pounds of planks in a mini-van with the intent of reusing some of it
himself. And a number of sculpture students hope to use the wood to build a
stage.

“It’s been a great learning
experience for us,” Wang notes, adding that the partnership between RISD Exposé and
Second Life is an incredible one. “This pairing has never been done before. We’re
working together on a large scale.”

According to the RISD Exposé impresarios, they’re expecting to see many Second
Life materials make their way into the White
Tie Show. “It’s a strange
collaboration. But in a lot of ways, it makes sense,” Lammer explains. “When
the artwork is up, you can see the loop.” –Abigail
Crocker